Picked up a Inland 2.5" 120GB SSD SATA III 6GB/s priced very inexpensively at micro-center, which is where you can also purchase $5 rpi zero's one at a time in person. The SATA drive is faster than the USB 2, but good to have that speed for other purposes. I pulled the 2.5" package apart and noticed how similar in size it is to a zero. If only the USB to SATA cable was small. Anyone have innovative ways to attach/cable two such boards for lightweight package? Zero has those usb soldering pads.

You cannot connect the two directly.... as the SSD needs a SATA to USB adapter circuit to connect to the RPiZero

if you can obtain the actual PCB unit inside the adapter unit, then you may be able to connect "permanently" via soldered wire connections....

"Don't come to me with 'issues' for I don't know how to deal with those
Come to me with 'problems' and I'll help you find solutions"Some people be like:
"Help me! Am drowning! But dont you dare touch me nor come near me!"

Some USB to SATA cables are very easy to take apart and get at the small board inside. It might be possible to remove the board and cut the USB cable down and solder the end on to the Pi Zero's pads.

USB enclosures often use even smaller USB3.0 to SATA boards that sit vertically on the back of the drive with just a socket sticking out of the back, but it would be harder to desolder that socket and make connections to it.

Oh, and yes, the price of the smaller SSDs seems to be dropping quite fast. 60 GB now around £12, 120GB starting at £13 and 240GB for around £20
It is interesting to open up the cases on them and see how small the internal board is. It is also good that they are fully enclosed, unlike HDDs, with no exposed circuitry to short on anything.

A few months ago I toyed with the idea of using just the internals of a 2.5 inch SATA SSD mounted to a Pi 3B.

128GB_SSD_internals.jpg (107.06 KiB) Viewed 792 times

It even has mounting holes that matched the spacing of the JBTek case I was using (well, 2 out of 3 anyway).

I decided against it because the SATA connector felt a bit flimsy without support from the case. Making a custom bracket (perhaps by cutting the existing case down) could solve that problem, but seemed more trouble that it was worth. It was reminiscent of the old X850 v1.2 mSATA expansion board that mounted over the USB and Ethernet ports (except the X850 was more expensive and didn't reboot reliably).

Of course you'd still need a USB-SATA adapter, and at least you have a choice in that (my Eluteng/TNP adapters reboot reliably). The solution I have now is to put the 2.5 inch SSD on top of the case, which is much simpler (same drive and JBTek case with top cover and fan installed).

Thanks for the replies and HawaiianPi thanks for the photos. Sounds like a good 3d printing project for packaging a Zero above or below the disassembled drive. Cable and USB to SATA cable will still be clugy. Thanks.

Can you point out and magnify for us the adapter circuitry and chipset in that "cable"?

"Don't come to me with 'issues' for I don't know how to deal with those
Come to me with 'problems' and I'll help you find solutions"Some people be like:
"Help me! Am drowning! But dont you dare touch me nor come near me!"

Can you point out and magnify for us the adapter circuitry and chipset in that "cable"?

There is none. My take on what was being suggested was to use something like that to solder to a usb to SATA adaptor, so the adaptor can securely fit in the USB socket, and a cable can replace the flimsy SATA connection.

Why not just use a microSD card though? A genuine SanDisk 128GB A1 card can be had for less than a Pi. No wires, no adaptors, still have all four USB ports.

the mSATA am using, in an Eluteng mSATA to USB3.0 case/adapter is just about the size of the Official RPF RPiZero Case

a bit of hacking will be needed......

but then again Imperf3kt's suggestion is the simplest one......

"Don't come to me with 'issues' for I don't know how to deal with those
Come to me with 'problems' and I'll help you find solutions"Some people be like:
"Help me! Am drowning! But dont you dare touch me nor come near me!"

Below is a photo of the motherboard 20 pin connection for the tiny HP SATA, of which 8 wires are used. The numbers on the HP motherboard are CN8 PC1043 PC1042 and R8157. I doubt there is any circuitry in that HP mini SATA cabling, which to clarify is USB 2.0, not 3.0; but possibly better from a price/performance standpoint than a microSD card.

The mSATA seems like a good form factor option, I don't know the price. The 120 GB USB 3.0 SATA was only $17.

Thanks for the lively discussion on fast, inexpensive small form factor storage.